Mubasher: Flash estimates for the Eurozone showed that business activity growth gained momentum in June.

The flash IHS Makit Eurozone purchasing managers’ index (PMI) registered 54.8 in June up from 54.1 in May, which marked the second weakest growth over the past 17 months, data released on Friday showed.

This highlighted the easing pace of business activity since the turn of the year.

As for new orders, the inflows have seen the largest gain in June, since April, while they recovered from a one-and-a-half year low in the previous month.

Moreover, the largest payroll increase was observed during June since January, while the rise was the steepest over the past 18 years.

The services PMI climbed to 55.0 in the sixth month of the year, compared to 53.8 in the preceding month, reflecting that the sector saw an improvement in growth at the fastest pace since February.

However, flash Eurozone manufacturing PMI fell to 55.0 in June from 55.5, while the sector’s output gauge was seen at 54.8, down from 54.3.

The survey showed that in some cases weak output and order book trends were attributed to trade concerns and growing political fears, while in other cases capacity constraints driven by shortages in raw material and skills were cited.  

“The rebound in June in part reflected business activity and order inflows having been subdued in May by an unusually high number of holidays,” IHS data said.

Nevertheless, the surveys showed that demand grew slower in recent months than earlier in the year.

Moreover, job creation picked up steam in both sectors, with service sector registering the sharpest rate since October 2007,

However, the pace for manufacturing hiring remained lower than the record highs seen at the turn of the year.

Expectations for business output moderated during the sixth month of the year, with the outlook gauge registering 19-month low.

Business activity in France and Germany accelerated in June, with a strong growth in their service sectors, while service business activity in the former rebounded from the 16-month low seen in the previous month.

 “The flash PMI survey gauge of input cost inflation across both manufacturing and services meanwhile rose to its second-highest in seven years, falling just short of January’s peak,” IHS Markit stated.

By 9:23 am GMT, the EUR/USD pair rose 0. 58% to $1.1671.